Not applicable.
The present invention relates generally to the field of apparatus and methods for allowing the opening and closing, turning or pivoting of a moveable member, such as accessory door, cover, lid or flap. More particularly, the present patent application relates to an apparatus and method useful for supporting, repairing or reinforcing the hinge assembly of a door, cover, lid, flap or other moveable member.
Various types of moveable members, such as doors, covers, lids and flaps, are used in automobiles, other types of vehicles, appliances, home and office equipment and various other devices for providing access to or to cover or protect various types of objects or spaces, such as switches, storage spaces, ash trays, cigarette lighters, etc. Such moveable members are referred to herein as xe2x80x9caccessory doors.xe2x80x9d For different reasons, it is desirable and can be important, or critical, that the accessory doors be operational to enable use of the spaces/objects accessed via the doors and to avoid potential undue expense and undesirable situations.
For example, one type of accessory door is an ash tray cover found in the driver""s compartment center console of an automobile, such as a Ford(copyright) model Mustang(copyright) or Thunderbird(copyright). These accessory doors typically provide access to an ash tray and a cigarette lighter. In addition to use for its intended function, the ash tray is often used as a holder for various items, such as money, toll way tokens, gate entry cards and other valuables. The cigarette lighter, in addition to use for its intended function, is often used for various additional functions, such as a power outlet for cellular telephones, automobile battery chargers, radar detectors and other devices.
If such center console ash tray accessory doors become difficult, or impossible, to move between open and closed positions, the above functions may become difficult or impossible to achieve. For example, if the door becomes essentially stuck in the open position, any money or other valuables or items retained in the ash tray would remain uncovered and thus potentially visible through the automobile windows. This could lead to vandalism of the automobile, or to decrease the risk of vandalism, cause the operator not to use the ash tray as a holder for such items. For another example, if the door fails by mistakenly closing while the driver is smoking, the driver may mistakenly discard ashes, or even put out the cigarette, on the top of the ash tray cover or elsewhere in the driver""s compartment. As a result, there may be undue expense to clean the driver""s compartment or replace a burned ash tray cover or other parts of the automobile, particularly if a fire is started due to the ash droppings outside the ash tray. Further, the driver could become distracted. Thus, it is generally desirable that moveable members, such as accessory doors, covers, lids or flaps, used in automobiles, other types of vehicles, appliances, home and office equipment and various other devices be operational and moveable between open and closed positions as generally originally intended.
The assemblies, or mechanisms, that enable the opening and closing, turning or pivoting of accessory doors, referred to herein as xe2x80x9chinge assembliesxe2x80x9d, sometimes malfunction, wear or break. If the hinge assembly is not completely inoperable, it may nevertheless render the associated accessory door not easily moveable between open and closed positions. As a result, the accessory doors can be rendered partially or completely inoperable, such that, for example, when the accessory door is in a closed position, the objects or spaces the accessory door was intended to access can become difficult or impossible to be accessed. Likewise, when the accessory door is in an open position or is completely removed, the objects or spaces the accessory door was intended to conceal will not be concealed, potentially causing undesired expense, problems and inconveniences, such as described above.
Many such hinge assemblies have numerous parts, including moving and interacting parts, in a confined space. Thus, it is believed to be generally difficult to access and effectively reinforce, support or repair the parts of a hinge assembly. In fact, no repair, reinforcement or support kits are known or believed to exist for such hinge assemblies. For example, owners/users of 1987-1993 Ford(copyright) Mustangs(copyright) automobiles have been known to xe2x80x9cjerry rigxe2x80x9d the center console ash tray doors in a closed position with Velcro, by affixing weights such as by taping quarters near the door edge, by deforming a spring component of the hinge assembly or by causing the cigarette lighter to protrude upwardly. These methods are believed to be temporary at best, and are not believed to make the doors moveable between open and closed positions as originally intended, or smoothly, or to render the doors otherwise operable as is generally desirable.
Thus, there remains a need for apparatus and methods to reinforce, support and/or repair assemblies, or mechanisms, that enable the opening and closing, turning or pivoting of moveable members, such as doors, covers, lids or flaps, used in automobiles, other types of vehicles, appliances, home and office equipment and various other devices. Preferably, the apparatus and methods may be simple, cost effective and/or easy to implement. Ideally, the apparatus and methods can provide permanent, or relatively permanent, support for hinge assemblies, alleviating the need for further repair. Further, it would be beneficial if the apparatus and methods would render the doors operable as generally originally intended, or designed.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for supporting a hinge assembly associated with an accessory door, the accessory door being moveable between open and closed positions relative to a base and including a first arm, the hinge assembly including a spring and the spring engageable between the base and the first arm. The apparatus includes a plate rigidly engageable with the base the plate and including a spring anchor mechanism that is capable of engaging the spring and at least one connector capable of connecting the plate and the base without interfering with the accessory door as the accessory door is moved between open and closed positions.
In some embodiments, the plate is engageable with a spring tab of the base. Further a spring reinforcing member may be used that is engageable with the plate and the spring tab. The spring reinforcing member may be a backing. The plate in some embodiments can be disposed angularly relative to the base. At least one washer may be disposed between the connector(s) and the base.
The accessory door may include a second arm movably engageable with the base and the apparatus including a first pin engageable with the second arm and the base. A first pin retention member may be included that is engageable with the first pin and disposed between the second arm and the base. In some embodiments, the first pin is a screw and the first pin retention member is a nut. The second arm of the accessory door may be modified to allow the accessory door to be moveable between open and closed positions without interference by the first pin retention member.
The base may include a finger, and if so, the first arm of the accessory door may be moveably engageable with the finger, the apparatus further including a second pin engageable between the finger and the first arm. A second pin retention member may be included that is engageable with the second pin and capable of connecting the second pin with the finger. The second pin of certain embodiments is a screw having a corresponding second pin retention member that is a nut.
The first arm of the accessory door may include a stud movably engageable with the finger, the apparatus including a passage formed into the first arm and the stud, whereby the second pin is extendable through the passage. A buffer member may be disposed between the second pin retention member and the finger, and the stud may be reduced in length to allow the second pin retention member to engage the second pin. In some embodiments, the accessory door may be ash tray cover.
The present invention may take the form of a repair kit for repairing a hinge assembly that enables movement of an accessory door between open and closed positions relative to a base, the accessory door including first and second arms, the base including a finger, the hinge assembly including a biasing assembly and first and second hinges. The biasing assembly includes a spring, the spring engageable between the base and the first arm, the first hinge involving the second arm of the accessory door and the finger of the base and the second hinge involving the first arm of the accessory door. Such kit includes a plate engageable with the base and the spring, a first pin engageable with the second arm and the base, a first pin retention member engageable with the first pin and disposed between the base and the second arm, a second pin engageable with the first arm and the finger and a second pin retention member engageable with the second pin and capable of connecting the second pin with the finger.
Yet the present invention may take the form of a method for supporting a hinge assembly that enables movement of an accessory door between open and closed positions relative to a base, the accessory door including first and second arms, the hinge assembly including a spring, the spring engageable between the base and the first arm. One such method includes forming a spring support plate with a spring anchor mechanism, engaging at least one connector between the spring support plate and the base and engaging the spring with the spring anchor mechanism of the spring support plate, whereby the accessory door is moveable between open and closed positions without interference by the spring support plate or connector(s). The base may include a spring tab, the method further comprising engaging the at least one connector with the spring tab, the spring support plate and a spring reinforcement backing.
In some embodiments, the method may include engaging a first pin between the second arm of the accessory door and the base, and possibly also engaging a first pin retention member with the first pin and disposing the first pin retention member between the second arm of the accessory door and the base. Material may be removed from the second arm of the accessory door to allow the accessory door to move between open and closed positions without interference by the first pin retention member.
The base may include a finger and the first arm of the accessory door may be movably engageable with the finger. In such cases, the method could further include engaging a second pin between the finger and the first arm and engaging a second pin retention member with the second pin, whereby the second pin is movably connected with the finger. Further, the first arm of the accessory door may include a stud that is movably engageable with the finger, and the method further including forming a passage through the first arm and the stud and extending the second pin through the passage.
Accordingly, the present invention comprises features and advantages which enable it to substantially advance the technology associated with supporting, reinforcing and/or repairing assemblies, or mechanisms, that enable the opening and closing, turning or pivoting of moveable members, such as doors, covers, lids or flaps, used in automobiles, other types of vehicles, appliances, home and office equipment and various other devices. The apparatus and methods of the present invention may be simple, cost effective and/or easy to implement. Ideally, the apparatus and methods of the present invention may provide permanent, or relatively permanent, support or repair for hinge assemblies, potentially increasing the life of the hinge assemblies. Yet further, the apparatus and methods of the present invention may allow the doors with which they are used to be generally operable as originally intended. Characteristics and advantages of the present invention described above, as well as additional features and benefits, will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description and referring to the accompanying drawings.